Covers

Both my sewing chair and my current computer chair have plastic seats, and I've been covering those with towels so my bare legs don't stick to them.  While this is certainly effective, it is also very very ugly.  So!  I decided to make covers for them.

I quickly rejected the idea of making these covers from properly quilted patchwork, because I know that calico cottons don't hold up to upholstery needs very well.  I turned to my stash of 'tapestry' jacquards, most of which I have had for a very long time, saving them for Just The Right Project.

...and, honestly, I didn't feel like this project was that, but I decided to use one of those jacquards anyway.  Since the fabric was so precious, did I make patterns? Mock ups? Any kind of test at all for my ideas about how to make these chair covers (things I have very little experience making)? Nope! I went straight to draping and cutting the irreplaceable vintage fabric. It worked out.

(there's more)

I thrifted this knock off Eames wooden leg Eiffel Tower chair for $5.  I looked at the various covers available for this style of chair, and rejected all of them because they were cheap knits that looked like they'd snag on everything.

I did study them enough to get an idea of how they went on the chair, and then started improvising my own version.

I laid the jacquard on the seat and just started cutting around it, adding what seemed like a proper seam allowance.  I cut a curved edge at approximately where the seat turned into the back, then repeated the process for the back.  Then I folded the pieces in half and trimmed them to be symmetrical (they weren't too far off!)

 

I wanted to use a knit for the back and bottom, both to, in theory, help with fit, and also so I could leave an opening on the bottom, with elastic zigzagged around, to snug up to the legs after being slipped over the whole chair.  Like a weird sock.

 

I also added elastic to the seam allowance in the knit where the back meets the seat, to also, in theory, help keep things snug. 

Yes, it's sparkly purple knit.  The reason is "why not?"

And it worked out pretty well!  I'm sure it will shift and grow with use, but that's a future hassle.

Then I turned to my sewing chair.

I made the seat cover the same way, draping and cutting and folding it to be symmetrical, then adding the bottom with an elasticated hole.

 

I did eventually--once it was finished--realize that I completely forgot to make sure the fabric was on-grain, and it's really very far from being straight.  It's fine.

I draped and cut one side of the backrest cover, then cut the other side using that piece.  The sides and stop were machine sewn, then I used a curved upholstery needle to sew the bottom closed.  It's very messy, but it's also very hard to see, so it's fine.

 

This seat cover does slide around, but not annoyingly enough for me to try to figure out how to keep it still.  Not yet, at least.

Then I made a cover for the printer! 

I'd been planning to make this cover since last year, with a quilting practice project from the year before, that turned out to be just about the right size to cover the top and front of the printer.

I used white poly cotton for the sides, and had just enough of the floral bias tape left to bind all of those edges.  The I aligned the bound edges of each part and sewed them together with the binding exposed.

I added a piece of elastic across the back to hold it in place, and, hooray!  My laser printer has a dust cover that makes it look like a covered 1980s food processor.  This is very amusing.